GOSSIP Live in Liverpool (Columbia) cd 13.98
Anyone who has seen the Gossip live knows what a special and sweat inducing and spirit invigorating experience it is. When Beth Ditto takes center stage it feels like being at the most inspiring punk show, cathartic soul show, and gut wrenching blues show all wrapped into one intense night. So while we aren't always the biggest fan of live records, we knew that if any current band could get away with releasing a live album (and as a major label debut!) it would be the Gossip.
Recorded live in Liverpool, this will show those who have never experienced the Gossip in person what the magic is all about and remind those of us who have, why we try to see them every single time we get the chance. There's no doubt that when they hit the stage they pour every single ounce of blood and guts into making their songs ring as loud and true as possible. They are one of those bands whose music has changed lives, so many people, including a few of us at AQ have had moments when it was a Gossip song or a live show that really reminded us of our core strength, or gave us the perseverance to fight on and be proud of who we are regardless of sexuality, gender, weight, race, etc. Beth has become this amazing combination of the spirit of Mama Cass and Nina Simone with a riot girl disposition. As well as performing songs from their great albums, this live recording also captures a heartfelt cover of Aalyiah as well as a Wham cover not to be missed. Live In Liverpool also comes with a live dvd directed by Lance Bangs. One of the few new live recordings we can totally stand behind!
MPEG Stream: "Don't Make Waves"
MPEG Stream: "Are You That Somebody"
MPEG Stream: "Listen Up"

GOSSIP Movement (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98
Awright, listen up and get ready to get down. Somewhere in the sweaty intersection of blues-damaged southern rock and Bratmobile covering the Misfits, the Gossip bring us another album of booze-fueled, raw and dirty rock n' roll and stripped down, slow and heavy blues punk. Singer Beth Ditto has a great tough n' sexy holler, and the barebones guitar and drums get straight to the party-rockin' point. A bit like the Yeah Yeah Yeah's minus the hype-- actually, this new Gossip rocks a lot harder.
MPEG Stream: "No No No"
MPEG Stream: "Light Light Sleep"

GOSSIP Movement (Kill Rock Stars) lp 12.98
Awright, listen up and get ready to get down. Somewhere in the sweaty intersection of blues-damaged southern rock and Bratmobile covering the Misfits, the Gossip bring us another album of booze-fuled, raw and dirty rock n' roll and stripped down, slow and heavy blues punk. Singer Beth Ditto has a great tough n' sexy holler, and the barebones guitar and drums get straight to the party-rockin' point. A bit like the Yeah Yeah Yeah's minus the hype-- actually, this new Gossip rocks a lot harder.

GOSSIP Music For Men (Columbia) cd 10.98
We know that usually people want to keep their favorite bands a bit of a secret, always fearing what would happen if they exploded and became huge and mainstream. But when it comes to the Gossip we really do hope and wish they become HUGE like on the radio/MTV/blasted in malls/bedrooms of teenagers across the globe huge... because they are a band whose message, energy and spirit is so needed in this world. They are the sound of triumph, the relentless spirit of the underdog and outcasts. A reminder that gender roles and traditional views of beauty need to constantly be challenged and their songs have given so many the courage and inspiration to keep on going at the darkest of times. For their major label, Rick Rubin produced debut they have seriously gone for it, and we love the results! Picking up where their great last album Standing In The Way Of Control left off, but for sure adding more electronics, pop and dance elements to their already fiery and rocking sonic disposition.
There really isn't a more charismatic, powerful and soulful frontman or woman around who can top the Gossip's Beth Ditto for dynamic presence and a voice that speaks right to the soul. She is like some amazing amalgamation of Joan Jett, Dolly Parton, Peaches, Kathleen Hannah, Mama Cass, Madonna, Aretha Franklin Missy Elliott, Corin Tucker, and Big Mama Thorton. And while the Gossip are not quite yet the biggest band in the world they are a lot bigger then anyone would have expected back when their first record on Kill Rock Stars was released, after the band members escaped the extreme religious right and homophobic surrounding of their hometown in Arkansas and took the inspiration of the Riot Grrl scene and fled to Olympia, WA in hopes of a better life. It's impossible to quantify the number of people who have been moved and impacted by their music (including several current and past AQ employees). The charged, clean and immediate production on Music For Men suits them very well, as they have always been a band that is about songs that pack a punch and keep you coming back for more and more. How cool it is that instead of airbrushed typical icons (Brittany, Christina, Jessica, etc) kids can hear sounds and read interviews with a large and in charge, queer and proud woman who like all of us, has had her ups and down yet continues to always believe in herself and give hope to all those who hear her songs. An inspiring and potentially crossover record for a band whose presence in the world continues to fill us with powerful positive energy and an undying spirit!
MPEG Stream: "Dimestsore Diamond"
MPEG Stream: "Love Long Distance"
MPEG Stream: "8th Wonder"

GOSSIP Music For Men (Columbia) 2lp 23.00
We know that usually people want to keep their favorite bands a bit of a secret, always fearing what would happen if they exploded and became huge and mainstream. But when it comes to the Gossip we really do hope and wish they become HUGE like on the radio/MTV/blasted in malls/bedrooms of teenagers across the globe huge... because they are a band whose message, energy and spirit is so needed in this world. They are the sound of triumph, the relentless spirit of the underdog and outcasts. A reminder that gender roles and traditional views of beauty need to constantly be challenged and their songs have given so many the courage and inspiration to keep on going at the darkest of times. For their major label, Rick Rubin produced debut they have seriously gone for it, and we love the results! Picking up where their great last album Standing In The Way Of Control left off, but for sure adding more electronics, pop and dance elements to their already fiery and rocking sonic disposition.
There really isn't a more charismatic, powerful and soulful frontman or woman around who can top the Gossip's Beth Ditto for dynamic presence and a voice that speaks right to the soul. She is like some amazing amalgamation of Joan Jett, Dolly Parton, Peaches, Kathleen Hannah, Mama Cass, Madonna, Aretha Franklin Missy Elliott, Corin Tucker, and Big Mama Thorton. And while the Gossip are not quite yet the biggest band in the world they are a lot bigger then anyone would have expected back when their first record on Kill Rock Stars was released, after the band members escaped the extreme religious right and homophobic surrounding of their hometown in Arkansas and took the inspiration of the Riot Grrl scene and fled to Olympia, WA in hopes of a better life. It's impossible to quantify the number of people who have been moved and impacted by their music (including several current and past AQ employees). The charged, clean and immediate production on Music For Men suits them very well, as they have always been a band that is about songs that pack a punch and keep you coming back for more and more. How cool it is that instead of airbrushed typical icons (Brittany, Christina, Jessica, etc) kids can hear sounds and read interviews with a large and in charge, queer and proud woman who like all of us, has had her ups and down yet continues to always believe in herself and give hope to all those who hear her songs. An inspiring and potentially crossover record for a band whose presence in the world continues to fill us with powerful positive energy and an undying spirit!
MPEG Stream: "Dimestsore Diamond"
MPEG Stream: "Love Long Distance"
MPEG Stream: "8th Wonder"

GOSSIP Undead In NYC (Dim Mak) cd 12.98
On record, Olympia, WA based The Gossip are an irrepressible, loosely slung, hell-raisin' blues rawk trio. Live, they crank it up a notch or three delivering the sweatiest swampy licks with an abundance of feist and fire. Live on record, it's all ultra raw, murky and dishevelled. The distorted, lo-fi recordings make you feel like you're right in the middle of the most rad basement party! They shimmy, stomp and shout their way through just over 27 minutes ending with a cover of Iggy Pop's "I Wanna Be Your Dog". Yay!
MPEG Stream: "All This Waiting"
MPEG Stream: "Confessor"

GOSSIP / TRACY AND THE PLASTICS Real Damage EP (Dim Mak) cd ep 5.98
Wait a second... Weird. These two bands usually sound nothing alike -- The Gossip's all about beltin' out their raw indie soulful blues whereas Tracy And The Plastics whoop it up with used and abused lo-fi electronics -- but on Real Damage it's super hard to tell where one band ends and the other begins. There's a potent devil-may-care grittiness that runs throughout this four-song EP. These Olympia scene faves end up being a great match for a split release, each kickin' out their respective hot licks. Super frantic and empassioned, and sure to please fans of both bands. Rad!
MPEG Stream: "Left Out Now"
MPEG Stream: "Dawn Feather"

GOSSIP / TRACY AND THE PLASTICS Real Damage EP (Dim Mak) 7" 4.50
Wait a second... Weird. These two bands usually sound nothing alike -- The Gossip's all about beltin' out their raw indie soulful blues whereas Tracy And The Plastics whoop it up with used and abused lo-fi electronics -- but on Real Damage it's super hard to tell where one band ends and the other begins. There's a potent devil-may-care grittiness that runs throughout this four-song EP. These Olympia scene faves end up being a great match for a split release, each kickin' out their respective hot licks. Super frantic and empassioned, and sure to please fans of both bands. Rad!
MPEG Stream: "Left Out Now"
MPEG Stream: "Dawn Feather"

GOSSIP, THE Arkansas Heat (Kill Rock Stars) cd ep 11.98
These blues rawkin' young'uns continue their spitball snarl'n'swagger with this new 6-song EP. They certainly kick some trashy garage rock butt with plenty of thumping drumbeats and low slung bass and guitar. Lots of punky fist-pumpin' fun with songs about taking back the revolution... even if lead vocalist Beth sounds a bit too much like Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney.
RealAudio clip: "(Take Back) The Revolution"

GOSSIP, THE Arkansas Heat (Kill Rock Stars) 10" 8.98
These blues rawkin' young'uns continue their spitball snarl'n'swagger with this new 6-song EP. They certainly kick some trashy garage rock butt with plenty of thumping drumbeats and low slung bass and guitar. Lots of punky fist-pumpin' fun with songs about taking back the revolution... even if lead vocalist Beth sounds a bit too much like Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney.

GOSSIP, THE s/t (K) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Gossip sling out a raunchy, raw batch of upright bluesy tunes that sound much older than these three youthful zealots' years. K Records International Pop Underground Series #96.

GOSSIP, THE s/t (K) cdep 5.98
The Gossip sling out a raunchy, raw batch of upright bluesy tunes that sound much older than these three youthful zealots' years. Number 96 in the K Records International Pop Underground Singles Series, but also released as a cd-ep.

GOSSIP, THE Standing In The Way Of Control (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98
While we're sure their live shows continue to be a sweaty wild blues rawk party, The Gossip have certainly pulled up their knee socks, combed their hair and tightened up their chops for this their latest full length. It's still very punchy with a thumpin' danceable beat courtesy of new drummer Hannah, but there's much less of the blistering grittiness that defined their sound. Granted some of their past grit could easily be attributed to less than stellar recordings. That's certainly not the case here -- they recorded at Bear Creek Studios (a very well-equipped pro recording facility housed in a beautifully converted old barn near Seattle) with Fugazi's Guy Picciotto at the helm. The band sounds great! It seems though that the band have reached a point in their recording career (with both confidence and ability levels at a high point) that if you didn't know that this music was being played by a trio of still-very-youthful indie kids, you could easily mistake it for something more mainstream-y... y'know, something that would never find its way onto Kill Rock Stars. Beth's voice alone has always delivered a soulful power well beyond her years. Now the music has locked into stride with her vocals. Right on!
MPEG Stream: "Fire With Fire"
MPEG Stream: "Jealous Girls"

GOSSIP, THE Standing In The Way Of Control (Kill Rock Stars) lp 13.98
While we're sure their live shows continue to be a sweaty wild blues rawk party, The Gossip have certainly pulled up their knee socks, combed their hair and tightened up their chops for this their latest full length. It's still very punchy with a thumpin' danceable beat courtesy of new drummer Hannah, but there's much less of the blistering grittiness that defined their sound. Granted some of their past grit could easily be attributed to less than stellar recordings. That's certainly not the case here -- they recorded at Bear Creek Studios (a very well-equipped pro recording facility housed in a beautifully converted old barn near Seattle) with Fugazi's Guy Picciotto at the helm. The band sounds great! It seems though that the band have reached a point in their recording career (with both confidence and ability levels at a high point) that if you didn't know that this music was being played by a trio of still-very-youthful indie kids, you could easily mistake it for something more mainstream-y... y'know, something that would never find its way onto Kill Rock Stars. Beth's voice alone has always delivered a soulful power well beyond her years. Now the music has locked into stride with her vocals. Right on!
MPEG Stream: "Fire With Fire"
MPEG Stream: "Jealous Girls"

GOSSIP, THE That's Not What I Heard (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Three kids transplanted to Olympia, WA via Searcy, AK. Beth sings in a raw, soulful Southern drawl (I think she kinda sounds like a female version of Danzig, just listen to Jailbreak!) over Kathy's rudimentary drums and stripped down bluesy guitar courtesy of Nathan (also of Boy Pussy USA). Sounds like the soundtrack to a juvenile delinquent flick set in late summer, in the parking lot of a Louisiana roller rink. Sloppy and sweaty and sexy in an awkward not so sexy teenage way. For fans of early Bratmobile, Pussy Galore/JSBX, Sleater-Kinney, and hell, Danzig!
RealAudio clip: "Catfight"
RealAudio clip: "Jailbreak"

GOSSIP, THE That's Not What I Heard (Kill Rock Stars) lp 10.98
Three kids transplanted to Olympia, WA via Searcy, AK. Beth sings in a raw, soulful Southern drawl (I think she kinda sounds like a female version of Danzig, just listen to Jailbreak!) over Kathy's rudimentary drums and stripped down bluesy guitar courtesy of Nathan (also of Boy Pussy USA). Sounds like the soundtrack to a juvenile delinquent flick set in late summer, in the parking lot of a Louisiana roller rink. Sloppy and sweaty and sexy in an awkward not so sexy teenage way. For fans of early Bratmobile, Pussy Galore/JSBX, Sleater-Kinney, and hell, Danzig!

GOSTA BERLINGS SAGA Detta Har Hant (Transubstans) cd 15.98

GOSTA BERLINGS SAGA Glue Works (Cuneiform) cd 15.98
A few years ago (2006) we reviewed the debut album from unpretentious modern day prog rockers Gosta Berlings Saga, of Sweden. Checking in with them again, they're up to album number 3, released Stateside by the venerable progressive rock / new music label Cuneiform. This actually came out last year, so we're a little late to it, but this sort of prog rock is timeless anyway (it might as well be from 1975!). They're still pushing our "traditional" prog rock lovin' buttons, so we thought we ought to list it for those of you likely to feel the same way, who dig other 21st century efforts at updating this '70s genre from the likes of Astra, Diagonal, and Crime In Choir, for instance.
Glue Works, like GBS's preceding albums, is mostly instrumental, and not overindulgent (for prog) - and thus could just as easily be seen as a moderately mathy "post-rock" album (but with mellotron!) instead of anything self-consciously retro. Most of the songs are even quite short and succinct, with only two of the 7 tracks breaking into double-digit lengths, those would be the powerful symphonic epic "Island" (12:58), and the album's multifaceted grand finale, "Sorteragatan 1" (12:51).
Filled with the varied drama & delight of grimy distortion, pleasant keys, eerie synth, sweeping strings, some angular new wavy guitar, and even musical saw, the entirety of Glue Works is a melodic and moody opus that nods to the proggy '70s without growing a ponytail or anything. Quite nice!
MPEG Stream: "354"
MPEG Stream: "Island"

GOSTA BERLINGS SAGA Tid Dr Ljud (Transubstans) cd 16.98
ATTENTION PROG ROCKERS! You know who you are. We are too. And while sure there's plenty of old faves and obscure '70s reissues to occupy your/our time, it's nice once in a while to get a hold of something new, something current, that still gives you that '70s prog-rock kick, right? We do our best to find stuff like that, and when we do we want to let you know. One recent example that hopefully you've already picked up was the new album from San Francisco's Crime In Choir. Well here's something else along those lines -- the cd debut from this really cool prog/jazz/psych band from Stockholm, Sweden. Recorded mid-2006, yet chock full of Mellotron, and even flute!! Yeah! And like CIC, GBS is also an all-instrumental proposition.
Gosta Berlings Saga -- we don't know why they chose it, but their name comes from the title of a 1891 Swedish novel, later (in 1924) made into a silent film that featured Greta Garbo in her first first starring role -- are definitely sorta retro, but still seem youthful and hip (a la Dungen, perhaps). They are definitely heavy on the keys, from Mellotron to synth to Fender Rhodes, but guitar and bass aren't neglected in the lineup. The drummer also has a crucial role to play, propelling these songs through their mostly 8-minutes-and-upwards lengths... In addition, they bring in that flute for one song, and also guests playing violins on a couple other cuts. Oh, and we've got to mention that there's somebody credited with "Buddha Machine" on another track!! All of this is woven together into a delightfully proggy, jazzy sound, reminding us of bits of Yes and Univers Zero as well as (fellow Swedes) Hansson & Karlsson and Kebnekajse. The seven tracks here encompass moods both bright and cheery, or (to a lesser extent, though) dim and dark, being by turns melancholic and sentimental, or dramatic and urgent. Apparently this is a concept album of sorts, something about the interaction of the forest and the city, with detours into outer space -- and ancient Egypt?? Well, of course, since it's instrumental (and furthermore the song titles are in Swedish), we can't really tell all that from just listening, as evocative as their music is, though the cool cd booklet artwork holds some clues (as does the band's website, from whence we got our information). Add some more prog rock points then for the concept album concept! And GBS gets even more points for definitely being about the MUSIC, not the playing. While it's obvious that these guys are good, they're not showing off, they're writing and performing some marvelous, melodic music without pretense that's still wonderfully PROG.
MPEG Stream: "Ljud Fran Stan"
MPEG Stream: "Knolsvanen"

GOTH-TRAD New Epoch (Deep Medi Musik) cd 17.98
We've long been fans of Japanese dubstepper Goth-Trad, aka Takeaki Maruyama, who has been responsible for some of our favorite 12"s ("Back To Chill" still gets regular spins), and who most remarkably is much more than a DJ or laptop jockey, instead playing samplers, keyboards and designing and building his own instruments, creating a sound that while essentially dubstep, incorporates all manner of other electronic musics, jungle, dub, house, techno, and we were expecting to dig this new full length for sure, but were totally unprepared for the killer opening track "Man In The Maze", the first half of which is total haunting soundtrack, all pizzicato strings, soaring swoonsome strings, dark looped piano melodies, woozy basslines, the sort of sound that has you wondering why nobody has tapped this guy to score their movie, so moving and emotional and darkly evocative, for a minute we had fantasies that maybe for this record he ditched the beats all together and created some imaginary soundtrack, but fear not, the beats come in gradually, subtle typewriter chitter, simple pulse, a strange layered sort of handclap, and then finally, the beat drops, skittery and stuttery, mirrored by another pizzicato string melody, the groove woozy and warped and totally incredible, another track we had to listen to about 20 times before we could bring ourselves to move on.
And while the rest of the record is not nearly so cinematic, the tracks are pretty moody and atmospheric, definitely dubbed out, minimal and fantastically abstract, less overtly dubstep than past outings, more a sort of stripped down late night techno, all skeletal and spare, but when the dubstep does drop, like on "Air Breaker", it's fantastically noisy, squelchy and seriously tripped out. The rest of the record is all over the place darkly funky one second, moody and murky the next, skittery and glitchy the next. The other jam here has to be "Mirage", which mixes playful bubbly synths with woozy warbly melodies, glitchy beats and thick layered buzz, laced with bursts of eighties synth swirl and fuzzy low end blurt, somehow super funky, but also weirdly psychedelic. Easily one of our new favorite electronica / dubstep / techno records for sure!
MPEG Stream: "Man In The Maze"
MPEG Stream: "Departure"
MPEG Stream: "Cosmos"

GOTH-TRAD New Epoch (Deep Medi Musik) 3lp + cd 38.00
We've long been fans of Japanese dubstepper Goth-Trad, aka Takeaki Maruyama, who has been responsible for some of our favorite 12"s ("Back To Chill" still gets regular spins), and who most remarkably is much more than a DJ or laptop jockey, instead playing samplers, keyboards and designing and building his own instruments, creating a sound that while essentially dubstep, incorporates all manner of other electronic musics, jungle, dub, house, techno, and we were expecting to dig this new full length for sure, but were totally unprepared for the killer opening track "Man In The Maze", the first half of which is total haunting soundtrack, all pizzicato strings, soaring swoonsome strings, dark looped piano melodies, woozy basslines, the sort of sound that has you wondering why nobody has tapped this guy to score their movie, so moving and emotional and darkly evocative, for a minute we had fantasies that maybe for this record he ditched the beats all together and created some imaginary soundtrack, but fear not, the beats come in gradually, subtle typewriter chitter, simple pulse, a strange layered sort of handclap, and then finally, the beat drops, skittery and stuttery, mirrored by another pizzicato string melody, the groove woozy and warped and totally incredible, another track we had to listen to about 20 times before we could bring ourselves to move on.
And while the rest of the record is not nearly so cinematic, the tracks are pretty moody and atmospheric, definitely dubbed out, minimal and fantastically abstract, less overtly dubstep than past outings, more a sort of stripped down late night techno, all skeletal and spare, but when the dubstep does drop, like on "Air Breaker", it's fantastically noisy, squelchy and seriously tripped out. The rest of the record is all over the place darkly funky one second, moody and murky the next, skittery and glitchy the next. The other jam here has to be "Mirage", which mixes playful bubbly synths with woozy warbly melodies, glitchy beats and thick layered buzz, laced with bursts of eighties synth swirl and fuzzy low end blurt, somehow super funky, but also weirdly psychedelic. Easily one of our new favorite electronica / dubstep / techno records for sure!
MPEG Stream: "Man In The Maze"
MPEG Stream: "Departure"
MPEG Stream: "Cosmos"

GOTHIC ARCHIES The New Despair (Merge) cdep 8.98
Another wonderful side project by songwriter Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields. With this one, he's venturing into the all too appropriate land of goth. Yes, it's true! And his dour romanticism is a perfect fit.

GOTHIC ARCHIES, THE The Tragic Treasury: Songs From A Series Of Unfortunate Events (Nonesuch) cd 17.98
From all the over the top dour, embittered romanticisms that he unfurls in his Magnetic Fields and solo recordings, who wouldn't think that Stephin Merritt had a dark tormented soul... a downright tragicomedy-lovin' goth side? Well, if there was any question, The Gothic Archies is where he lets it all hang out. Yup, this is Stephin Merritt's 'goth rock' project, but as with each of his other themed ensembles this one comes with a wry wink and a sly twist. It's actually only sort of goth. You might think of him as sort of the living equivalent of a black velvet painting of a sad clown complete with tear creeping down one cheek. In case you couldn't guess from the title, this is his ode to the Lemony Snicket's book series. Each song is lovingly dedicated to one of the thirteen volumes - all in muted dusky tones, funereal paces, slightly absurd lyrics. Ahh, birds of a feather! There's also two extra treats: the band's original tune done for the audiobook version of The Carnivorous Carnival and a Gothic Archies theme song. So silly! His singing is at its ripest deepest atonal best. The compositions are nicely varied, as are the instrumentations. It's all so wonderfully antique-y in a novel Musee Mechanique kind of way. Verily a goodly fan pleaser!
MPEG Stream: "This Abyss (from The Ersatz Elevator)"
MPEG Stream: "Freakshow (from Carnivorous Carnival)"
MPEG Stream: "We Are The Gothic Archies"

GOTHIC KNIGHTS Up From the Ashes (Limp Music) cd 16.98

GOTO80 Made On Internet (Pinipung) cd 17.98

GOTTSCHE, MATHIAS Fledermausrufe Im Modulationsverfahren (Gruenrekorder) cd-r 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We recently discovered this little German label called Gruenrekorder, who specialize in "Phonography and Audio Art" which translates to field recordings, turntablism and audio installations, which definitely sounded right up our alley. We then discovered that they had 60 or 70 releases, probably more by the time of this review, most cd-r's and all incredibly limited, usually to 50 or less. Yikes. Had to do some quick thinking, so we picked two of the most promising sounding and got a bunch of those (a bunch meaning 25 copies, which is half of the pressing). So elsewhere on this list you'll find the other Gruenrekorder release, a sound installation for turntables and plastic angels, which somehow seems to perfectly balance this one right here, a field recordings of bats, collected via ultrasound, much like the The Inaudible World cd / book we listed a while back, but while similar, the sounds here are different enough, that if you dug The Inaudible World, Fledermausrufe Im Modulationsverfahren makes a good addendum.
Collected by Matthias Gottsche, head of the NABU department for protection of the bats in Schleswig-Holstein, the sounds here were a part of an infrared film project, assembled for species analysis, but due to the overlap and chaos of the various animals recorded, it ended up useless as research material, leaving it to exist simply as sound art.
The best part is the description of this disc on Gruenrekorder's website, explaining why it is all one track "Because of the reduction to only one track the listener has to go through it all at once and with it is confronted with his one staying power." Yes! And this will definitely test your staying power. As the sounds of bats, their sonar rendered audible to human ears, sounds a bit like several people playing Yahtzee!, shaking dice in those little plastic cups, but never actually rolling them, just shaking and shaking. The percussive rattle fluctuates from baseball card in the spokes flutter to a dense clattery cacophony, a tangled rhythmic web that is constantly shifting and undulating, and is in its own weird way quite soothing and hypnotic. Still hard to believe these sounds come out of bats...
Beautifully packaged, printed cd-r, striking black and white sleeve, cool infrared photos, but again, LIMITED TO ONLY 50 COPIES!!! So once these are gone, we won't be able to get more.
MPEG Stream: "Fledermausrufe Im Modulationsverfahren (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Fledermausrufe Im Modulationsverfahren (excerpt 2)"

GOTTSCHING, MANUEL E2 - E4 30th Anniversary (MG.ART) cd 17.98
At last, a nicely done new cd reissue of this renowned early '80s krautrock / proto-techno classic! We've actually never before reviewed E2-E4 because the previous reissues were expensive and kinda hard to come by, though we DID once list a double cd tribute to this record, imported from Japan, featuring tracks by the likes of Rovo, Buffalo Daughter, and Eye from the Boredoms, who took up the entire 2nd disc with his extended mix (wish we still had that, but it's long gone). Better, though, to have this, the actual album that inspired the tribute. Here's some of what we said about it when we reviewed that Japanese tribute disc:
German guitar guru Manuel Gottsching, founder of legendary krautrock pioneers Ash Ra Temple (which morphed into the new-age-ier Ashra), made a few records in the eighties under his own name. E2-E4, recorded in Berlin in 1981, and released in '84, was first and foremost among them. It's rightly hailed as a classic and was a great inspiration for early Detroit techno artists like Derrick May and Carl Craig. The resonant timelessness of E2-E4 has extended beyond many other albums of the era and its influence has continuously popped up in more recent minimalist techno circles - most noticeably within the Cologne scene.
We went on to say that while the reinterpretations on the tribute disc were cool, you should check out the real deal, and now here it is. It's one loooong track, approximately one hour in length, with nine titled and timed subdivisions indicated on the cover (suggestive of a chess match: "Quiet Nervousness", "Queen A Pawn", "Draw"...), that flows and flows and flows, Gottsching's guitar and electronics drifting and dancing beautifully over the continuous, pulsating, subtly-shifting proto-techno beat. It's so very pleasant and airy, also soooo hypnotic and ahead of its time. An hour you won't want to end, once it has lulled you into trance. Listening to this, it's easy to see why the Boredoms' Eye would revere it, and of course those abovementioned Detroit legends too.
This "30th Anniversary" edition comes packaged in a nice embossed miniature lp style sleeve showing off its iconic chess-board cover design.
MPEG Stream: "E2-E4 excerpt 1"
MPEG Stream: "E2-E4 excerpt 2"

GOUCHER, CHARLES & SCOTT COLBURN Pint Size Spartacus (Gravelvoice) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sun City Girls drummer with longtime collaborator/studio whiz.

GOUDE, JEAN-PHILIPPE Drones (Lion Productions) cd 14.98
Moogs. Magma. Need we say more? All right, we will. This reissued 1980 album is both very Moog-y and very Magmoid. Mostly instrumental, it was the work of classically trained French pianist Jean-Philippe Goude, who was also interested in jazz, rock, and minimalism, and who had played keyboards with the Magma offshoot band Weidorje in the late '70s. So though this is a solo album, he got a lot of help from various heavy friends... usual suspects from the French prog-synth-rock underground, including members of Magma and Heldon (Klaus Blasquiz, Bernard Paganotti, Patrick Gauthier, Richard Pinhas, Francois Auger, and many more, what a lineup!). Thus this fits in snuggly with the Magma-inspired, jazz meets prog "Zeuhl" movement, especially tracks like opener "Les Saturnales" (with Blasquiz on vocals) or the exciting quadruple-guitar heaviness of "Dies Irae". But this is a varied album, and despite all the guests, two tracks feature no one but Goude alone, including the quite strange and effective soundscape piece "Coma". He also does a piano/synth duet with Heldon's Pinhas on the original album's final track "Cantiliene", which has that sort of Romantic, classical vibe we associate with Cluster's Roedelius. We say original album's final track, 'cause this cd reish closes with a bonus cut, the relaxed, loping, rather happy-sounding "Trio Des Mini-Moogs". Another track we should mention is the fantastic "Machine", wherein the melancholic strings of a chamber music quartet are overtaken by bleeping, burbling mad scientist synth and chugging mechanical beats.
The entire album is a delight, being both experimental and avant-garde, AND mesmerically melodic. Like we said, interestingly varied, but always with an aura of refinement, elegance and careful composition. It makes sense that Goude would go on to make a career out of library music and soundtracks for film and television. Indeed, if we understand the liner notes correctly, several of the tracks here were rearranged from pieces Goude had previously written for a pair of privately pressed lps, commissioned for the use of the French national gymnastics federation (???).
You'll find those extensive liner notes, vintage photos, etc. in the cd booklet. Lion has done their usual thorough labor-of-love job here, although this could have used one more round of proofreading, as we noticed a few insignificant typographic errors. The only potentially confusing one, being that the tracklist on the back cover has the songs numbered 1-12, omitting 5 though, as actually there's only 11 tracks... whoops. But other than that minor glitch, this is nicely done, with the original album's retro-futuristic graphics carefully reproduced. Love the neon-looking script for the text!!
Definitely glad they reissued this, having never heard it before, many of us here at AQ are digging it, even the not so Magma obsessed. And while perhaps "warmer" than some French coldwave, fans of that sort of thing should check this out, it certainly has something in common (including personnel) with Bernard Szajner's stuff, for instance.
MPEG Stream: "Machine"
MPEG Stream: "Dies Irae"
MPEG Stream: "Tintinnabulum"

GOULD, BILL / JARED BLUM The Talking Book (Koolarrow) cd 10.98
Not to be confused with Stevie Wonder's album of the same name, this is a new collaboration between Bill Gould (of Faith No More as well as numerous other diverse international projects) and Jared Blum (whom aQ followers may recognize from his numerous musical aliases such as Beaks Plinth, Blanketship, Vulcanus 69, and their Bay Area parent indie label Gigante Sound).
Perhaps needless to say, this is quite different than the elder Talking Book or than any of Gould's past predominantly metal-rooted musical pursuits for that matter, but it's very much in familiar abstract sound shaping territory for Blum. Indeed, although you will find keyboards and synthesized sound here as you would on Wonder's 1972 classic, Gould and Blum sculpt them (as well as tapes, vintage vinyl and acoustic instruments) into shadow shrouded soundscapes instead of driving funk or soulful pop. The album starts out lurking in the dank gloom of earth-bound recesses, but later tracks drift out into the heavens with shimmering melodic guitar lines. Nice! It's an effective collaging together of the hazily delicate and the gristly dissonant. Soft crackle and hiss suggests something aged, dusty and weathered. Haunting moods are conjured by shifting tonal and textural layers with shards of piano and guitar cutting through the foreboding clouds. A darkened room and headphones are most certainly advised to best experience Gould and Blum's assemblage of blistered drones, faded abrasions, buzzing protrusions and bass-heavy contusions. Recommended for fans of Aidan Baker (Nadja, Arc), BJ Nilsen and Stilluppsteypa, Campbell Kneale (Birchville Cat Motel, Our Love Will Destroy The World, TRMRS) and followers of the abovementioned Gigante Sound label. Released on Gould's Koolarrow label.
MPEG Stream: "Sundown"
MPEG Stream: "The Fallen"

GOULD, DAVID Adonai in Dub (Tzadik) cd 15.98

GOULD, GLENN Bach: The Goldberg Variations (Doxy) lp 26.00

GOVERNMENT ISSUE Live 1985 (Flipside ) dvd 14.98

GOWN For The Maples (Three Lobed Recordings) lp+cd 21.00
Somehow, we have never reviewed anything by Gown (not to be confused with Gowns plural), the work of Andrew Macgregor, who is one half of Bark Haze with Thurston Moore. But this is as good a place to start as any.
On For The Maples, Macgregor enlisted the help of longtime AQ faves Sunburned Hand Of The Man, for one big final psychrock blowout before he left the US of A for more Northernly climes (aka Canada), and it is indeed a blowout, but not without plenty of gentle twang, fluttery folk, and meandering jams. The opener starts out with a massive multiple drum jam, a furious percussive cacophony, with thick streaks of blown out psych guitar, but all that quickly settles down, into a spacious twangy drift, the vocals crooning over slowly unfurling minor key guitars, and shuffling drums, but the track ramps it up and is soon a murky krautdrone groove, Macgregor's guitar, keening and wailing over Sunburned's druggy drift. The second is another woozy spaced out jam that builds to a total wild pagan psychrock freakout.
And finally, the nearly 20 minute closer, Sunburned in full on caveman drug jam mode, Macgregor wrangling some seriously cosmic sounds out of his guitar, the whole group locked into a psychrock duel to the death, culminating in blown out blast about halfway through, before the track devolves back into a churning space drone plod, gradually petering out to fuzzy soft shimmer.
Gorgeous heavy 180 gram vinyl, thick silkscreened sleeves, hand numbered, LIMITED TO 698 COPIES, each lp comes with a real cd (not a cd-r) of the whole record, AND while they last, a SECOND disc, of previously unreleased material. But there are only about 300 of those, and we only got a handful so those definitely won't last long.
MPEG Stream: "Part II"
MPEG Stream: "Taylor's Jam"

GOWN The Old Line (Divorce) lp 14.98

GOWNS Broken Bones (Latitudes) cd 14.98
Not too long ago, Gowns were at the forefront of SF's avant/noise-rock community, their live shows strung out between violent, explosive outbursts of earth shattering noise and intimate moments of quiet song craft. We loved the band's ability to seamlessly weave these two extremes into a beautifully violent sound that was difficult to classify but easy to get lost in. Catastrophically noisy, carefully composed, and effortlessly brutal, Broken Bones conveys the intimacy of a folk song with the delivery of a freight train.
Recorded after two full tours of the US and Italy, the band laid down these 5 tracks in the Southern Studios (in the dead of winter) to document the live set they had perfected on the road. The liner notes state these recordings reflect "a time when we were barely holding on by our fingernails", and certainly Broken Bones hovers on the cusp of uncertainty, each moment teetering between blissful resonance and utter destruction.
Heaven is by far our favorite track on the 19 minute ep, a song that became the highlight of every Gowns live set, and the recorded version captures everything we love about these guys. Quiet female vocals that fall somewhere between Kim Gordon and Nico, the silky voice recalling a drug laden evening before posing the question, "Is it white like heaven or dark like space?". Sporadic drumming, deep bass and spindly guitar gradually seep into the dreamy haze as the track slowly unfolds into a mind-melting, noise freak out.
Like all the Latitudes releases, limited, and distinctively packaged.
MPEG Stream: "Heaven"
MPEG Stream: "Griefer"

GOWNS Broken Bones (Latitudes) lp 16.98
Not too long ago, Gowns were at the forefront of SF's avant/noise-rock community, their live shows strung out between violent, explosive outbursts of earth shattering noise and intimate moments of quiet song craft. We loved the band's ability to seamlessly weave these two extremes into a beautifully violent sound that was difficult to classify but easy to get lost in. Catastrophically noisy, carefully composed, and effortlessly brutal, Broken Bones conveys the intimacy of a folk song with the delivery of a freight train.
Recorded after two full tours of the US and Italy, the band laid down these 5 tracks in the Southern Studios (in the dead of winter) to document the live set they had perfected on the road. The liner notes state these recordings reflect "a time when we were barely holding on by our fingernails", and certainly Broken Bones hovers on the cusp of uncertainty, each moment teetering between blissful resonance and utter destruction.
Heaven is by far our favorite track on the 19 minute ep, a song that became the highlight of every Gowns live set, and the recorded version captures everything we love about these guys. Quiet female vocals that fall somewhere between Kim Gordon and Nico, the silky voice recalling a drug laden evening before posing the question, "Is it white like heaven or dark like space?". Sporadic drumming, deep bass and spindly guitar gradually seep into the dreamy haze as the track slowly unfolds into a mind-melting, noise freak out.
Like all the Latitudes releases, limited, and distinctively packaged.
MPEG Stream: "Heaven"
MPEG Stream: "Griefer"

GOWNS Red State (Cardboard) cd 11.98
Strange and shambling ode to the underbelly of the American heartland from this duo comprised of Ezra Buchla (ex- Mae Shi) and Ericka Anderson (Amps For Christ). Mixing dusty feedback squalls, damaged electronics and bummed out gospel-y folk with distorted narratives involving drugs, cataclysmic weather and self-abuse, Gowns sounds at times like a primitive Cat Power if Chan Marshall went in a much darker direction after recording Moon Pix. Red State is mournfully elegiac with a simmering intensity that is barely restrained, much like the rarely lit corners of our troubled country.
MPEG Stream: "Rope"
MPEG Stream: "Fake July"
MPEG Stream: "Advice"

GR & FULL-BLOWN EXPANSION s/t (World In Sound) cd 23.00
Imagine a slow, but nervously tense rhythmic krautrock ritual, but one that seems like somehow the likes of Bo Diddley, Link Wray, or Hasil Adkins would feel at home sitting in on... you're in Full-Blown Expansion territory.
Early last year, when gonzo French psychpunkrockers Gunslingers were over here on tour, they stayed at Allan's house, and their guitarist Gregory Raimo gifted Allan with a copy of one of his solo releases, an LP attributed to GR & Full-Blown Expansion, which has now been reissued on compact disc. A darn good thing 'cause we'd have wanted to list the LP but it was limited to just 300 colored vinyl copies and we never managed to get any for the store. Now that it's on cd version we've got a chance to justly rave about this wigged out, trance inducing music! While we already were familiar with some music made by the other 2/3rds of the Gunslingers trio, who y'know also play in the much more black metallic and equally awesome bands Aluk Todolo & Diamatregon, we didn't know as much about Gregory Raimo.
Judging by the motorpsycho acid rock six string action GR unleashes in Gunslingers, whom we tagged as trafficking in "utter aggro over the top distortodelic geetar excess" and compared to The Heads and Mainliner, we expected, well, a total amped-up electric geetar full-blown blow-out on his solo set. And yeah, you DO get some of that here all right, particularly later in the album on tracks like "The Scene (Slowly's Getting Louder)" which sure as heck does get loud and fuzzy, like Kinski or your fave Tokyo Flashback psych. But even more crucial to this album may be the roiling, percolating rhythms, evident right away in opening 12+ minute track/trip "Descent Along The An-Ti-Fohn-Nul" which had us convinced this was rad right off the bat, along with its spacey vibe, slashing bursts of guitar distortion, and greasy, drawling bathed-in-effects vocals...
GR's percussion is described thusly, in cryptic but no doubt accurate fashion: "regular & extensionist drums, loco-drums & asymmetric drumming". Crude and entropic it might be, but very effective in propelling these tracks into the a very krauty zone. Some parts are mantrically mesmeric, others more "free" and chaotic, but hypnotic, definitely repetitive and raw.
This record really sounds like a bunch of freaks jamming intently, late at night. Enough so that it's almost weird that it's actually a one man jam, GR playing ALL the instruments, guitar, drums, organ, bass, vocals, effects... layering 'em together via 4-track overdubbing. It's 43 minutes long, but how many man-hours went into it? We're reminded of a looser, garagier and greasier A.R. & Machines, maybe, this krautrockiness somehow bringing in freakbeat rockabilly leanings, so Guru Guru for sure, also considering GR's song titles like "All Stoned Day Long They Take You"!
Each track is different, same weird krauty vibe but different, from the twangy surf licks reverberating over groovy bass lines heard in "Tranfiguration On A Sepiachord", to the druggy jazzy moody improv skitter-skatter scribble-scrabble of "The Metal Spike", to "The Intercessor Speaks" which sounds like a more chaotic Circle or dubbed out Doktor Kettu, to the electrically zapped This Heaty droning finale of "Blind Black Or Pearly White" wherein the electronics really take over... Assuming he recorded this at home, what the heck do his neighbors think? Utter madman in the next-door apt.?! Thanks GR!! We want to hear more from Gunslingers, of course, but are also looking forward to more Full-Blown Expansion, too!!
Get this while you can, we hear the digipack is kinda limited too, it comes with the same graphics as the original LP and has liner notes by Billy Miller from the legendary Texas psychsters Cold Sun!
MPEG Stream: "Descent Along The An-Ti-Fohn-Nul"
MPEG Stream: "Transfiguration On A Sepiachord"
MPEG Stream: "The Intercessor Speaks"

GRABOWSKI, PAWEL Cirr's Song (Drone Records) 7" 7.50
Inspired by a month long series of nightmares in which Grabowski found himself drowning in deep water, over and over again, the Polish electro-acoustic composer produced this exceptional piece of dark ambience for the Drone Records series of 7" singles. His subaquartic shimmering sounds slip in and out of the sonic landscape, punctuated by echoing gasps, wooden creaks, and thunderous rumbles, somewhat like the epochal Nurse With Wound album Salt Marie Celeste. Already in its second pressing which is limited to 300 copies.

GRAE, JEAN Jeanius (Blacksmith) cd 14.98

GRAE, JEAN The Bootleg of the Bootleg EP (Babygrande) cd 10.98
Man, people have been dying for this, the first official release from Jean Grae, who has had the hip hop underground in a tizzy, popping up all over the place, stealing the show on other folks' songs and comps. This ep is short, especially for such a hotly anticipated debut, but it's made up for with a 45 minute bonus track megamix of unreleased cuts and freestyles. Grae has a wicked flow and a sharp tongue, spitting vitriol in all directions, sparing nobody. The beats and loops are spare and old school, but the flow is anything but. Check out the aptly titled Hater's Anthem to understand just how pissed, and how good, Grae really is. Guest spot by now defunct AQ faves Cannibal Ox.
MPEG Stream: "Hater's Anthem"
MPEG Stream: "Swing Blades"

GRAE, JEAN This Week (Babygrande) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "A-Alikes"
MPEG Stream: "Going Crazy"

GRAF ORLOCK Destination Time Yesterday (Level-Plane) cd 13.98

MPEG Stream: "Tactical Destruction"
MPEG Stream: "50 Year Storm"
MPEG Stream: "Not Economically Viable"
MPEG Stream: "Improvement Society"

GRAHAM, DAVY Folk, Blues & Beyond (Fledg'ling) cd 16.98

GRAHAM, DAVY Hat (Fledg'ling) cd 16.98

GRAHAM, KENNY & HIS SATELLITES Moondog And Suncat Suites (Trunk) cd 16.98
If you were ever curious to hear how Moondog might have sounded had he been recorded by Joe Meek, then here is your chance! Trunk records rescues this exquisite rarity from complete obscurity that displays the early influence of The Viking of 6th St. on a group of Britain's finest jazz players. Recorded in 1956, and engineered by a young Joe Meek, the underrated alto saxophonist Kenny Graham assembled a band of amazing session players, including Stan Tracey, Phil Seamen, Danny Moss, and Ivor Slaney (who recorded the horror soundtracks Terror and Prey we reviewed awhile back, though he is here in less horrific mode), as well as the evocative vocals of singer Yolanda to record this two part tribute. The first part, The Moondog Suite, covers ten of Moondog's early compositions, five short percussive pieces and five longer songs including "Utsu, "Chant", "Fog On The Hudson" and Lullaby". The six pieces in the "Suncat Suite" (Suncat, get it?) are all originals inspired by Moondog's pieces. These range from short eastern influenced numbers to more complex compositions of mesmerizing exotica, sometimes swinging, and at other times more moody. The production for both is sharp. The percussion zings, the vibes crisply resonate and the horns and woodwinds sound impeccable. Trunk scores again with this amazing reissue.
MPEG Stream: "Chant "
MPEG Stream: "Utsu"
MPEG Stream: "Tropical Sun"
MPEG Stream: "Sunday"

GRAHAM, KENNY & HIS SATELLITES Moondog And Suncat Suites (Trunk) lp 17.98
If you were ever curious to hear how Moondog might have sounded had he been recorded by Joe Meek, then here is your chance! Trunk records rescues this exquisite rarity from complete obscurity that displays the early influence of The Viking of 6th St. on a group of Britain's finest jazz players. Recorded in 1956, and engineered by a young Joe Meek, the underrated alto saxophonist Kenny Graham assembled a band of amazing session players, including Stan Tracey, Phil Seamen, Danny Moss, and Ivor Slaney (who recorded the horror soundtracks Terror and Prey we reviewed awhile back, though he is here in less horrific mode), as well as the evocative vocals of singer Yolanda to record this two part tribute. The first part, The Moondog Suite, covers ten of Moondog's early compositions, five short percussive pieces and five longer songs including "Utsu, "Chant", "Fog On The Hudson" and Lullaby". The six pieces in the "Suncat Suite" (Suncat, get it?) are all originals inspired by Moondog's pieces. These range from short eastern influenced numbers to more complex compositions of mesmerizing exotica, sometimes swinging, and at other times more moody. The production for both is sharp. The percussion zings, the vibes crisply resonate and the horns and woodwinds sound impeccable. Trunk scores again with this amazing reissue.
MPEG Stream: "Chant "
MPEG Stream: "Utsu"
MPEG Stream: "Tropical Sun"
MPEG Stream: "Sunday"

GRAILS Acid Rain (Temporary Residence) dvd 17.98

GRAILS Black Tar Prophecies Vol's 1, 2, & 3 (Important) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It maybe took a little while, but folks around here finally started digging the Grails, A LOT. After their last record, their second release on Neurot, the band went through some personnel shifts, which often trigger the end of a band, but in this case, pushed the band in new directions and resulted in some of their best music to date. That Neurot record was cool, but at the time we had sort of reached our post rock, quiet-loud-quiet saturation point. It wasn't that the Grails weren't a great band, it was because we had raised our bar on moody epic post rock. It was no longer enough to just drift along post-rockily before exploding into epic metallic bombast and drifting back again. As pleasant as that is to listen to, there was SO MUCH of that going around, we just needed something more. Soon after the band released an ep of international psych covers and that was the beginning of a glorious new direction. We knew whatever was gonna come next would be a killer, and thankfully, The Black Tar Prophecies, are indeed just that.
The whole three volumes thing was a bit confusing, and still is. We never actually carried volume one, a super limited split 12" with the Red Sparowes, which went out of print before we could get any, we sold tons of volume two, a limited colored vinyl lp on Aurora Borealis, and as far as we can tell, volume three exists only as the two unreleased tracks on this here cd. Regardless, this is some, dark and amazing, absolutely beautiful music. With the Black Tar Prophecies, the Grails finally shrugged off their influences and forged their own sound, never hesitating to experiment, explore, or fuck around with songs and sound. These musical 'Prophecies just might just be the weirdest, most subtle, least rock set of songs they've ever produced. We were definitely always fans, but when we heard that psych covers ep, on which they covered psychedelic songs from around the world, including AQ faves Flower Travellin Band, well, we were suddenly WAY more than fans. They had us as Flower Travellin Band. Anyway, Black Tar Prophecies takes their obsession with psych rock, and their deft mastery of all things post rock, and turns them inward, into a darker, doomier, moodier place. And we love it. Super gloomy rhythmscapes, jazzy piano, totally dubbed out drums, everything bathed in smoky atmospheric swirl. Reminds us a little of Bohren & Der Club Of Gore at times. Songs that wander down dark alleys, streetlights barely illuminating the murky streets, sonic ghost towns, haunting cinematic postrockscapes, like a more rock DJ Shadow, all low slung bass and shuffling rhythms, very smoky and dreamlike. Elsewhere, dreamy psychedelic guitarscapes, strummed acoustic guitars, beneath fuzzed out moody psych leads, really seventies sounding, like a more abstract post rock Hendrix / Santana thing. But the doom inclined among you will find much to love too, here and there, thick slabs of glacial that will have dronedirgedoom nerds frothing at the mouth, as if to prove they can throw down with the big boys (Boris, Corrupted, Isis, Pelican, Moss, etc...) the band unleash massive downtuned dirges, thick washes of slow sludge guitars woven into tarpit riffs of gargantuan proportion, distortion so blown out it crumbles like dirt clods stuffed in your ears, the recording strangely lo-fi, giving the proceedings a dreary droney, Hawkwind meets Gore sort of dirgedoom vibe. Epic and amazing.
This cd collects both the previously released 12"s and adds two exclusive and previously unreleased tracks!
MPEG Stream: "Back To The Monastery"
MPEG Stream: "Black Tar Frequencies"
MPEG Stream: "Black Tar Prophecy"